Appliance for use in imparting instruction in or practicing swimming



April 6 1926.

H. OLSSON APPLIANCE FOR USE IN IMPARTING INSTRUCTION IN oR PRACTIGING SWIMMING Filed April 29. 1924 Homey v To ZZ 'whom t may concern:

Patented pr. 6, 1926.

Annuaires nonI USEk rNf IMBARTING INSTRUCTION rrr: Oia.l naerrcrns SWIMMJNG- Application filed pmi-29, 19,24. Serial No...709,3.58'.

Be it. known that I, I-IAnoiin OiissofNv, a subject olf the'ling' ot Great Britain, 'and' a resident of Bath, in the county of Somerset, England; have inventcdan Improved Appliance for Use in, Iznparting Instruction in or l .)racticin`g` Svvi iming er' Wlii'chtlie following` is a specilication. f

This Yinvention relates' to,

Appliances "for use iii iinpzii-ting;v instruction lin or practic-J ing swimming; .y y .Ln `accordant:e 'with'A the invention the 1mpi'oved appliance comprises abuoyant structure adaptedto afford direct support to the chin of the pupil ot' sniinn'ier. "llliis struc# ture which may also support other parts ol tl'ie body aiidcompii'ses.one or that either, the buoyancyl thereof can be varied to enable the 4degreeotV support. atllordedtto a kpupi-Lto rbe progressively decreased as the latter progresses in the art or the 4position olf'the chinsu'pport and/0r other parts ott-,he struc-,ture can be varied relatively Yto the centreot buoyancy oi' the structure se as to varytlxe pointl relative "to the surface or the Wate" at' Whichtl'ie chin orother part ofV tlie'body voi the pupil or swimmer is supfpoited.K

For use iii imparting instruction in or practicing either the breast or the overarin stroke, such for-example as-tliestrole known as the American lc rawlv, the structure: may which are adjust'-V ably attacl'ied tivo divergingarms :to the comprise a main float. to

outer ends: of Wliicliis connected a, belt adapted to be-attachedto the body of the swimmer and carrying tnioj'auxiliary floats.' The main -l'loat may carry p means adgustablyattached tlivretoand .the

auxiliary floats may be adjustable with ref, lspectY to the main floatin `any suitable mainV instance by varyingt the efiectivev ner, as for length and/0r inclination of the connecting' the main float may, be

arms. In some clases t provided vWith one lor more dovvnxvardlyjproa for the reception yof' thechin of the swim- .lary

more floats. `is preferably constructed in such manner a chinV supporting depending arintorv eii- 11191* Oi-nunl and the auxiliary flcats'lnar he adjustable with respect tothe, inan flea@ as Set 'Qrl 'above @este may be rerlsced by a transverse/1 pfad; or the, like,- 'preierabl'y otbfuoyantt ina,- teizialfnjhich connects. the ends O'l-r tlie; divergent rarms andv'is adaptedjto restl on orbe attached'to the pupils back.r v virl*Odlied lorm the main float may have'tlie chin supporting means adj ustablyf attached` tlieiet wliich means may carry the arms which tlieinain ilo-at is connectedwith'tlie other floats. y'

The structure may alsolin afi'irtlierjmodi'- lied forni, comprise a number oli:y s iini zr" 'Iloats connectedY by arnisor, the like car-ry'- ing asupportingl means for the chin; This supporting means may be 'attac-lfied`, to Oil?" rest oirsa'id arms substantially midway bei" tween' thetloats and in someigcases 'inayjbfe adpistab'le in relation to the latter.

For imparting4 instruction-[ni or pr-uitic? ingparticularly x'yhatr is commonly known as the An'ierican crawl?" Or arinfovenarni:

strokethe structure may'coinprise ,a single' floatprovidedwith one' or more,dovvnvvard-`- ly projectiiigliiis orY heels or other' ineansgas for example anv adiustabie weight" Sl'iiably" attached to vertical depending Varm,V foreiisurii'ig, lateral stability vwith or ,Withoutl one a or 'more arms Vor projectionsy carrying a transverse pad as above described.,l

Supplementary' to the buoyant-l structure proper two 'other iioats may be provided', andadapted for attachment to the legsrot" the swimmer, iiisuch manner that when he. is in the Water they will allordthenecessaryjsupportfto hislegs butk will not hold them tpg: near the surface. Y

Inan'y-form ofthe invention eoaining' on brea Water is preferably Provided, which @Xa/agie ai i front' @freie acatar-'the ,papas-r, Y

swimmer? and prevents the Water from gain ing access to his mouth andnose soH as to lgivei hinal greater confidence in his early.y eliiforts. And further, a vertrca-'l partition l may extend' across the Whole or af'por'tifon' of the interior of the maintloaan aperture or apertures being p rovidedin salfparti Q tion that' when' it is desiredtodecrease the buoyancyv yofthe lioat :and the latter is partially lilled with Water the partition cvon trols the passage of Water from-one sidefof' thel tlf'oatto theV other, thereby assisting inprevent'ing excessive rollin-g` of tlietioat..

VIn 'order that the invention may be more clearly understood and readily carried into practice, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings wherein several constructional forms thereof are illustrated by way of example and in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one form of the buoyant structure proper, Fig. 2 a plan view of the main float, and Fig. 3 a perspective View showing a main float provided with a depending arm and adjustable weight. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of another form of the invention and Fig. 5 is a similar view of one of the additional floats which may be provided for supporting the legs of the pupil or swimmer. grammatic views showing two further modiiied forms.

The construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises a main fioat 1 on which are mounted a pair of diverging arms 2 which are adapted to be attached to a belt 3 fitted with two auxiliary floats 4. rl'he floats 1 and 4 may consist of closed metallic or other receptacles normally full of air but provided with necks or equivalent by which they may be partially filled with water or other liquid in order to vary their buoyancy or may be of material of suitable low specific gravity such as cork as hereinafter described with reference to Fig. 4.

The float 1 is provided on its upper sur- .face with a chin supporting member 5 adjustably secured thereto by means of a bolt 6 and wing nut 7 which bolt is fixed in the float 1 and passes through holes 8 or a slot in the member 5 so that the latter may be moved relative to the centre of buoyancy of the structure. The chin supporting member may be provided on its upper surface with inclined ribs or projections 9 and mounted in grooves 10L1 intermediate the forward ends of the ribs 9 is a screen or partition l2 adapted to be raised or lowered as required so as to control access of water to the mouth and nose of the pupil. As well as the screen 12 a coaming or breakwater 10 may be secured to the ribs 9 by turn buttons 11, as hereinafter described with reference to Fig. 4 of the drawings. In some cases the ribs 9 may be dispensed with, in which case' breakwaters may be substituted therefor and be hinged to the upper surface of the member 5 so that they are capable of being swungdown sidewayswhen required, so as to expose the face of the pupil or swimmer to free access of water from both sides.

A groove or recess 13 for the chin is provided towards the rear end of the chin supporting member 5 in which may be placed some soft material so as to give comfort to the chin.

The arms 2 have a plurality of holes 14 at their forward ends which are adapted to engage bolts 15 on the underside of the main float and are secured thereto by wing nuts 1G,

Figs. 6 and 7V are dia-r whereby the effective length and inclination of the arms 2 are varied as required. Each of the arms 2 at its other end is yprovided with a ring screw 17 which may be attached by a tape or the like to any one of a plurality of rings or eyes 18 secured at convenient points on the outside of the belt, or, instead of the ring screw 1i', a snap hook may be fitted to the ends of the arms which are adapted to hook on to the eyes 13. The belt which may be of any suitable material such as canvas or thelike is fastened round the abdomen of the swimmer 19 which are attached to the ends of the belt. That portion of the belt which passes round the back of the pupil or swimmer carries the auxiliary float or floats 4, preferably by means of loops 2O formed in or attached to the belt. which loops encompass the fioat or floats. Tapes may be provided towards either side of the belt and are tied at the back, such tapes passing through holes or loops formed in the belt, whereby the auX- iliary floats may be brought closer together or permitted to remain further apart so that the structure will fit pupils or swimmers of varying sizes.

In some cases the auxiliary float or floats 4 may be reduced in size and a depending arm 21 having an adjustable weight 22 thereon attached in any suitable manner to the main float 1 as is shownin Fig. 3 of the drawings. Vhen this latter arrangement is employed it is preferable to use auxiliary fioats attached to the legs as hereinafter described. The main iioat 1 may also be provided interiorly with a vertical partition 23 extending longitudinally of the fioat from a position on the side adjacent the swimmer to within a small distance of a forward position of the side of the float. By this means, when the float has been partially filled with water in order to decrease its buoyancy, such water is caused to remain on either side of the partition and thereby assist in preventing rolling vof the main float. The space 24 between the partition and the forward side of the float, and which preferably lies under the neck through which the water is poured, permits of the water reaching both sides of the partition; Vin an alternative method the partition may extend entirely across the fioat, in which case holes may be'bored in the partition to serve the same purpose as the space 24.

lhe position of a swimmer when using the appliance is indicated by broken lines in Fig. 1, the main float 1 being partly under his chin, the auxiliary floats 4 at his back.l and the diverging arms 2 passing below his armpits so as not to interfere with the free movement of his arms The appliance illustrated by Fig. 4 which may be used particularly in imparting instruction in or practicing the breast stroke nuts 2f), a. number. of j-holes 30 being pro-lv Cil comprises a main float 1 onwhich are mounted a pair of diverging arms 2 carrying auxiliary floats il. may, consist of closed metallic or other; receptacles vnormally full of air but provided with necks ory equivalents which they shown inv dottedlines in Figs. land 5, the

number ofqwhieh may be increased or decreased A1n order toevary the buoyancyo'f the structure.

rlhe Yfloat, 1. isfiprovided with a groove. or.v

recess. 13' for. thereeeption of the .chin yofthe ivimmer or pupil and the armsv Q, which lare pivotally connected with ribs .or projections 9..on..the;.float l: have.. oblique tapered ends 24e? ada ted to co-.act with op iositel. 'formed P i l ends 25;on.raisedportions.ofthe ribs)v and are securediin the position shown by turnbuttons 2".; Slidably mounted ingrooves 10 in the forward endiof. the ribs or progfcctions.

9 is a screen, or-partition 12;.and detach-y ablyseoured tothe'ribs 9 by means. ofiturnbuttons 2,7 is a celluloid or othertranspar.- eut coaming 10.' The' floats Ltare.secured to thearms Qby means ofxbolts 2S and Wing vi'dedlin eac-h arm inl order that thepositionot. these -flicatsmay be adjusted.'

An apron 31%, aiportionorv the VWhole oi Which may be buoyant, .provided `with tapes or cords 82, is attached to thefloatlvor other suitablepart ofthe dev-ice'in any suit-v ablemanner.

The float` 33. illustrated by Fig., iis-ormaybe similar to the floats l, its particular feat-ure being thatl the loop or equivalent Se by which it is attached to the legs of the swimmer or pupil is secured to the float proper by a cord or equivalent of suliicient length to permit of the free use of the leg at the proper distance beneath the sur'- face of the Water. y v 'Y rlhe appliance is attached to the pupil or swimmer inthe manner illustrated by means of vthe apron 31 and tapes or cords 32. The

floats 33 may or may not be attached to suit-' able parts of his legs as may be considered desirable.

One method of using the appliance, as illustrated in any of the figures, for the pur.-

pose of swimming instruction is as follows: YVhen the pupil enters the water he rests his chin in the groove or recess 13 and proceeds to carry out the strokes in which he has pre-A viously been instructed on shore. YThe i screen or coaming 10 prevents Water gaining access to his mouth and nostrils and thereby gives him greater confidence in his early efforts. As the pupil progresses 1n the The floats 1 and 4 y art the buoyancy. of thel floats and 4e may be dim-inished, if they are in the fornirci receptacles by; inserting a certain y amount of- Water thereinto or-if they are inthe form ofv buoyant material by removing one or more. section'stherefrom.- As the pupil still furtherprogresses the coaming 10fmay be ref moved land the screen or door l2 can *ber raised and eventually removed altogether.l

The construction illustrated diagrammat! ically by FigA G, is aI modification oi", that ile lustratedby Figs. 2 and Il, whereinv the mainfloat 1 is of cylindricalformation.and. slightly larger' diameter than the auxiliary floats l, and has adjustably attached; there-Y to' a supporting member 5f to whichy the: arms `Q .are secured, llhe recess 13; forfthe,

Slli

chin of rthe swimmerl is 'formedon the upf por sui-face of.. theinember a, which surface may also carry the brealrwater 10. andv screen 1Q ir any suitable manner. A slety Se extends from the front of the member 5 centrally in a rearward direction f onanyf suitable distance, throughl which, slot. a bolt 35 fired. in the main floatl passes andisy se-v cured by'a wing, nut 3a; 'themember isl thusY capable ol" adiustment .on the main:-

float 1 for the purpose of varying the point of-v` support. for the chin ofi the swimmer in f relation tothe centre ofabuoyancy of.,l the structure, whereby the position of; the chin ofthev swimmer relative tothesurface of.' theWater,maybcvaried. 1 v

inthe modification :illustrated in Fig.7. Whiehjis also. .purelydiagrammatic, thel structure comprises three similar floats 3T.

of cylindrical. shape. connected by. the arms A supporting menfiberrv 3S in Which is f formed the recess. 13. forV thereception of the chinoff therpupil. orv swimmer and Which may. also carrythebreakivater and screen, is. attached to the arms. Aint'ermediate.their ends, the supporting member being so located as to permit of the recess 13 occupying a position substantially at or in vertical alignment with the centre of `buoyancy of the structure. The-member 38 may be capable of adjustment on. the arms 2. lVith this construction a result similar to that described With reference to Fig. 5 isobtained whereby the point of support of the pupil or swimmerv may be varied in relation to the cent-re of buoyancy oli' the structure.

c In another 'form of -the inventionl the required. y Y y I claim as my invention l. For use in imparting instruction in or practicing swimming, a buoyant structure comprising a closed hollow body, and a supporting means for the chin of a pupil or swimmer adjustably attached to the upper surface of said hollow body.

2. For use in imparting instruction in or practicing swimming, a buoyant structure comprising' a main float member, adjustable supporting means for the chin of a pupil or swimmer attached to the upper surface thereof, two diverging` arms adjustably attached to the underside thereof, a belt attached to the body of the swimmer, to which belt the free ends of said diveilg'ingarms are attached at any desired point, and two auxiliary hollow bodies fitted to said belt.

3. For use in imparting` instruction in or practicing swimming, a buoyant structure comprising a main ioat member, and a detachable coamino or brealrwatcr provided on the upper surface thereof.

4l. For use in in'iparting` instruction in or practicing swimming, a buoyant structure comprising a main float member, and an adjustable coaming or breakwater provided on the upper surface thereof.

5. For use .in imparting instruction in or practicing,` swimming, a buoyant structure comprising a main float member, a supporting means for the chin of a pupil or swimmer provided on its upper surface, and a detachable coaming or brealrwater provided on the upper surface of said supporting means.

6. For use in impartinv instruction in or practicing swimming, a auoyant structure comprising a main float member, a supporting means for the chin of a pupil or swimmer provided on its upper surface, and an adjustable coaming or breakwater provided on the upper surface of said supporting means.

7. For use in imparting,` instruction in or practicing swimming, a buoyant structure comprising` a main float member, a supporting means for the chin of a pupil or swimmer provided on the upper surface thereof, projections on the upper surface of said supporting means and a coaming or breakwater detachably mounted on said projections.

8. For useJ in imparting instruction in or practicing swimming, a buoyant structure comprisingl a main float member, a supporting means for the chin of a pupil or swimmer provided on the upper surface thereof, projections on the upper surface of said supportiirg` means, and a screen or partition adjustably fitted intermediate the forward @nos of said projections.

9. For use in imparting instruction in or practicing swimming, a buoyant structure comprising a main float member, a supporting means for the chin of a pupil or swimmer adjustably mounted on the vupper surface thereof, projections on the upper surface of said supporting means, and a coaming or brealrwater detachably mounted on said projections.

l0. For use in imparting instruction in or practicing swimming, a buoyant structure comprising a main float member, a supportingmeans for the chin of a pupil or swimmer adjustably mounted on the upper surface thereof, projections on the upper surface of said supporting means, and a screen or partition adjustably fitted intermediate the forward ends of said projections.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this fifteenth day of April,

HAROLD OLSSON.

CIL 

